Stax Lambda primer for electrostat newbies

[vrln]

Glad to see the Stax Mafia is going strong! It suprised me how many replied to this thread, I was thinking it would go fairly unnoticed. By the way, does anyone know what the overseas distributor policy is regarding the warranty? For example if my gear is bought from country X, will another country Y nearby respect their warranty or does it have to go back to the original seller in case of any problems?
 
PS: I have a case of channel imbalance. Not in my gear, but in my ears! The flu hit me pretty hard 

 

[xaval]

The Stax mafia prefer to listen to music and their good gear. No FOTM to discuss much

 

[vrln]

Stax has something common with Apple I think. Both have a very dedicated group of fans that once hooked, don´t really consider other products much anymore (no reason to). At least I´ve gotten the impression here that the Stax mafia is mostly a pretty non-confrontational group. I have to say I wonder where the "mafia" reputation came from. They are more like pacifists in my experience, staying happy in their one or two threads in the high end forum. The constant searching for a better amplifier, tube combinations etc in the dynamic/orthodynamic headphone world in the end means that people are not satisfied with their gear and want more. Electrostats are of course not the answer for everyone, but if one is already swapping around gear a lot, they are definately at least worth checking out.

 

[purrin]

Quote:

About the caps, is there a way to know you need to replace them?
My rig is from the seventies and was bought as is. As far as described in the letter of the previous owner, nothing was ever maintained either on the phones or the energizer...

 
You can check for leakage or if you have a scope you can measure how much capacitance they actually have left. Definitely replace any electrolytic caps from 35-40 years ago!
 
Quote:

 By the way, does anyone know what the overseas distributor policy is regarding the warranty? For example if my gear is bought from country X, will another country Y nearby respect their warranty or does it have to go back to the original seller in case of any problems?
 

In the USA, Yama's will say you're SOL if try to have them repair something not purchased through proper channels.
 

 

[purrin]

     Quote:

Stax has something common with Apple I think. Both have a very dedicated group of fans that once hooked, don´t really consider other products much anymore (no reason to). At least I´ve gotten the impression here that the Stax mafia is mostly a pretty non-confrontational group. I have to say I wonder where the "mafia" reputation came from. They are more like pacifists in my experience, staying happy in their one or two threads in the high end forum. The constant searching for a better amplifier, tube combinations etc in the dynamic/orthodynamic headphone world in the end means that people are not satisfied with their gear and want more. Electrostats are of course not the answer for everyone, but if one is already swapping around gear a lot, they are definately at least worth checking out.

The price of entry for a decent STAX setup that doesn't carve a hole in your eardrums is much less now.
 
The recently released 407 and 507 are much behaved compared to some of the previous Lambdas. I had an SR-Lambda Signature powered by an 006 in '93. I sold the setup after a few months for a Sennheiser (HD-560 I think) and later went to Grado. I never bothered looking back at STAX (it's not as if their USA distributors were ever effective at promoting their products) until a recent meet where I got to listen to both the O2 and 507.
 

 

[xaval]

Quote:

 
You can check for leakage or if you have a scope you can measure how much capacitance they actually have left. Definitely replace any electrolytic caps from 35-40 years ago!
 

Anything else i should take a look at as in a mod/upgrade perspective? As i see it, I'll probably leave to the hands of my electronics guy - not really sure how aquainted he could be with energizers, but I figure it's all electronic stuff!
 
 

 

[purrin]

For mods or upgrades, I would have to defer to Spritzer. I haven't even taken the case off my SRM-323 yet just to peek (which I usually do with all my equipment.)
As far as caps, it's easy, just locate and replace all electrolytics. It shouldn't be expensive at all if done by an honest electronics guy.

 

[TIMITS]

Quote:

 

Congrats on landing the SR-007s! You've gone from zero to hero with that purchase! Might i enquire as to what amp you would be using to run these earspeakers? Was also giving that particular FS ad a long hard look since as you mentioned, it is so so seldom that STAX appears for sale anywhere down under and thanks for getting rid of the temptation for me.

Hi Crumpler, I was aiming towards the 507's and the SRM-352 as a good combination however a pair of O2 MK1's came up for sale which looked like they were in great condition and I blew the total budget on just the headphones

 
I'm still keen on the 352 as I read a comment from Kevin Gilmore on Headcase that this was a good Stax amp and the price is attractive.  Ultimately a KGSS would be super cool but I guess it comes down to the pain of waiting while waiting for the dollars to accumulate.

 

[svyr]

I did buy through an official local distributer but not from CONUS. I bought them directly off the official local distributer when i was in Singapore. I've heard horror stories about Yama's!

errr, I'm confused. SG is not exactly local warranty. Shipping anywhere outside Australia is pretty much $50 default minimum by EMS, and for heavier items like driver units, probably around $70-80? (plus insurance if you chose to take it)


>By the way, does anyone know what the overseas distributor policy is regarding the warranty? For example if my gear is bought from country X, will another country Y nearby respect their warranty or does it have to go back to the original seller in case of any problems?

I presume, crumpler meant local warranty as in 'SG is closer than AU and in AP region '?

 

[crumpler]

Quote:

Hi Crumpler, I was aiming towards the 507's and the SRM-352 as a good combination however a pair of O2 MK1's came up for sale which looked like they were in great condition and I blew the total budget on just the headphones

 
I'm still keen on the 352 as I read a comment from Kevin Gilmore on Headcase that this was a good Stax amp and the price is attractive.  Ultimately a KGSS would be super cool but I guess it comes down to the pain of waiting while waiting for the dollars to accumulate.

Wow! Please do keep us posted in your quest for your very own ultimate stats setup. Some pictures of stat rigs would be awesome as well. 
 
Well, in my opinion, audio nirvana is more of a journey than a destination, and yes, "waiting for the dollars to accumulate" is part of the experience! Enjoy!

 

[crumpler]

Quote:

Quote:

I did buy through an official local distributer but not from CONUS. I bought them directly off the official local distributer when i was in Singapore. I've heard horror stories about Yama's!

errr, I'm confused. SG is not exactly local warranty. Shipping anywhere outside Australia is pretty much $50 default minimum by EMS, and for heavier items like driver units, probably around $70-80? (plus insurance if you chose to take it)


>By the way, does anyone know what the overseas distributor policy is regarding the warranty? For example if my gear is bought from country X, will another country Y nearby respect their warranty or does it have to go back to the original seller in case of any problems?

I presume, crumpler meant local warranty as in 'SG is closer than AU

and in AP region '?

I'm actually a Singaporean undergoing training in Australia. I'll be returning to the lion city in a few months so i really meant local warranty since i bought my SR-507s from the official distributer in Singapore. I'm not sure if there is an official distributer for down-under tho. 
 
 

 

[svyr]

I'm actually a Singaporean undergoing training in Australia. I'll be returning to the lion city in a few months so i really meant local warranty since i bought my SR-507s from the official distributer in Singapore. I'm not sure if there is an official distributer for down-under tho. 
 
 

http://www.stax.co.jp/Export/Distributor-Australia.html - lol.

There's also an official repairer - classic audio. But as mentioned above I don't recommend them.

 

[Jacques]

 
This is a good thread; it puts the Stax Lambda series in perspective. Since 2005, I have been enjoying a SRM-313 and SR-404 combo and haven't feel the urge to upgrade. Several electrodynamics like AT-W2002, K-701, HD-600, HD-650 have come and go, all were interesting but did not do it for me. No, I haven’t heard the SR-007. The Calgary audio dealers are very HT. 
 
Price wise, I agree that they are not as expensive as it may appear. By the time you match a good amplifier with the others, you could very have spent more. The sound is very ethereal and it will not appeal to who likes subwoofers. Do not judge them while new, out of the box; mine took weeks if not months to sound the way they do. Source and cables become very important.
 
There are several reviews in the 6moons. Here is one of them:
 
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/stax/stax.html
 
 
 

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Anything else i should take a look at as in a mod/upgrade perspective? As i see it, I'll probably leave to the hands of my electronics guy - not really sure how aquainted he could be with energizers, but I figure it's all electronic stuff!
 
 

Replacing elecrolytic caps in 20 year old gear is mandatory in my book, let alone something that's 30+ years old.  When dealing with gear from the 60's/70's I usually replace all diodes as well plus anything that looks "off" (discolored etc.). 
 

 

[vrln]

Quote:

The price of entry for a decent STAX setup that doesn't carve a hole in your eardrums is much less now.
 
The recently released 407 and 507 are much behaved compared to some of the previous Lambdas. I had an SR-Lambda Signature powered by an 006 in '93. I sold the setup after a few months for a Sennheiser (HD-560 I think) and later went to Grado. I never bothered looking back at STAX (it's not as if their USA distributors were ever effective at promoting their products) until a recent meet where I got to listen to both the O2 and 507.

 
The only Stax I´ve heard other than the SR-507 that I now have is the SR-404 Signature. While I already prefered that to the HD 800 and LCD-2 I had at the time, I must say the SR-507 is a lot better, especially in the treble and bass. The 404 Signature (later on I read that they are actually considered one of the worst Lambdas made!) had an annoying treble spike, but it was nowhere as bad as on most dynamic headphones (HD 800 for example). I haven´t heard the O2 unfortunately, but at least compared to dynamic headphones, the SR-507 is not bright at all. Before Stax, I was already ready to think that headphones just can´t do treble correctly. Personally I just don´t see how anyone can consider the HD 800 or Beyerdynamic style treble treble neutral. Even "hard" studio monitors that measure almost completely flat in a free zone don´t sound anything like those headphones.
 
It´s neat how it manages to show treble that doesn´t make your ears bleed without rolling it off (like LCD-2 and HD 650 do). Overall the SR-507 to me seems a lot more refined than the SR-404. So I think you´re right, the new driver update must have been pretty good then. It´s a bit odd how little fanfare the new update has gotten here on Head-Fi (pretty much unnoticed compared to the amount of hype every new amp and major update in the dynamic headphone world seems to create). Or maybe the leather pads in the SR-507 have a big influence on the sound (the SR-404 Limited on the other hand to my best knowledge is considered fantastic).